What's Fer Dinner?

[Dr. Gonzo]

Mao's favorite: Hong2 Shao1 Rou2.
Thre's no real recipe. Just buy a few pork hocks, with hair removed. Place in a liquor of around a cup of dark soy sauce, a few big spoons of sugar and a smattering of star anise [cloves work too.]
Fill with water until the hocks are covered. Bring to the boil, then simmer covered on very low for several hours, topping up the liquid if needed.
The meat should be very tender.
Good, basic [well off] peasant tucker!

[Raoul Duke]

Yeah, a good one.

I usually see it cooked with a lot of ginger and hot peppers along with the ingredients that The Gone One lists.

My biggest problem with this dish is that it's usually made with fat pork...as in pork pieces that are about 90% fat and skin, with a tiny bit of real meat. These pieces are eaten whole. Sometimes you can convince the cook to substitute lean pork in this dish, but they will look at you like you're crazy.

There's a great variant that will also guarantee you a place in the cardiac ward: whole shelled hard-boiled eggs are cooked in along with the meat. Anything this dangerous HAS to taste good, right?

[Dr. Gonzo]

As a father of a youngster we gave the chilli a miss.
Use whole pork hocks: 80% meat, and a great bone for the lady to chew on. Hehe.

[Raoul Duke]

Good idea, but I'm never the one cooking it myself...
By the way, this dish sometimes gets onto menus in Western countries as "Red Cooked Pork".

[Dragonsaver]

I do chicken wings in this first. I don't put in the sugar but I do add about a 1" piece of ginger. Then do the pork in the same liquid as a second cooking. Been making this in Canada for Years and Years. Super GOOD Got the receipe from some Hong Kong students when I lived in Calgary (>1979).

[Dr. Gonzo]

The egg industry here in OZ, bless their corrugated arteries, claim proof that eggs are good for ye.
I vouch for them being one of the safest and tastiest breakfasts around; many a rural railside breakfast has been a hard boiled egg and those sweet bread rolls.
But yes, cooked in that sweet black hong shao sauce they are nice. A common Chinese dinning [sic] room treat.

[Mr Nobody]

I, too have cooked this a few times. delicious. I have had it here, too. There is a lot of variation in it - must be a very old dish.

[George61]

www.epicurious.com/
I haven't tried anything yet, but a couple of the recipes read tasty.

[Raoul Duke]

Here's a delicious dish, a great winter warmer...and a definite challenge for some of you. This dish may strike some as a good exhibit in your kid's school's Halloween Spook House. It contains things I normally won't touch...but they're great here.

Chuan2 jia1 fu2 is served in a giant crockery or metal dish, sometimes over a brazier. It starts with a basic white cabbage soup, but is heavily laden- and I do mean PILED- with some combination of most if not all of the following: sliced pork, sliced beef, chicken breast, pink ham slices, various meatballs and fish balls, whole shrimp, quail eggs, egg dumplings, tofu-skin dumplings, brown mushrooms, wood ears, bamboo shoots, green onion, pork tripe, beef tripe, pork intestines, pork blood, chicken feet... and who knows what else.

The whole thing presents as a thick, complex soup that you can eat with chopsticks. It's definitely extremely nutitious and will keep you vigilantly guarding the People's Revolution against the forces of reactionaryism long into the night.

This stuff is really good despite some ingredients that might strike many as a bit repugnant. The squeamish might be able to get the chef to edit the ingredients a bit. Ya wussy.

[cheekygal]

Will share one simple recipe - when you dont have much time, tired, lack creativity and want to *feed a man*.
Cut beef into pieces and soak it in a decent amount of Maggie's seasoning sauce, mixed with some black pepper and 5-spices powder. Put it in microwave for 2 mins (medium heat).
Cut onions, garlic, broccoli and potatos.
Heat up some oil in a pan and put the meat. Stir it occasionally for 17 mins, then add garlic and onions, stir it again for another 5 mins. The add some water with salt in it and let it simmer for 15 mins. Add broccoli and potatos. Add a bit more water, cover up and let cook on low fire for 15-20 mins (till meat gets all tender and soft and other ingredients are cooked). If you have dry or fresh dhill - throw it in in the end. TA-DA! Simple and yummy. Instead of Maggie's seasoning you can use soya sauce and teeny bit of vinegar.

[Raoul Duke]

After recounting the delights of pigs-blood-and-chitlins soup, the next dish will give the squeamish a break...

My housekeeper proudly announced tonight that she had cooked Zhu1 Pai4 for me.

Turned out to be basic breaded fried pork chops...would have been comfortable on any Western table.

[cheekygal]

My ayi doesnt cook for us. We cook ourselves. Sorry, just can't really stand Chinese food...

[con's fly is open]

Raoul, what's the Chinese name of that "Beef and Olive Vegetable" dish we had last night?

[acjade]

A recipe for simple bliss.

Cucumber sandwiches.

One French sliced loaf.
One cucumber freshly purchased from the village.
Salt.
Butter.

Thin the bread slices with a good bread knife. Spread thinly with butter.

Peel the cucumber and thinly slice into a bowl and sprinkly lightly with salt.

Layer the cucumber between slices of buttered bread.

Tape the pantry and fridge doors open to prevent the jars and packets of chillie jumping out.

Serve with a freshly made pot of tea. Put your legs up in front of the tele and watch Titanic for the fifth time since last week telling yourself it was the 94th anniversary last week and it's as good as a memorial service.

[woza17]

Hey Cheekygirl that will make you popular at English corners "I can't stand Chinese food"

I say that I like Chinese food but not everyday and qualify it with, would you like to eat Western food everyday? the Chinese are so proud of their food and quite rightly, especially their banquet food.

Last night I made up a plate of houre dourves on pumpernickel bread in these cute little rounds. Pesto, prawns cream cheese, cherry tomatoes and so on.
Today a big pot of curried brown lentil and vegetable soup.
I seriously have to have homemade western food or I lose my appetite.

[acjade]

Me too...oooo.

God Woza. We're twin sisters seperated at birth. Or am I just missing my real sisters seperated at birth?

Well no matter. You're here. They're not. Story of my life really. What's lentil in Chinese?

[woza17]

I don't know but I buy my lentils at the western supermarket, they are imported from Italy. 20RMB for a packet and I can make 2 big pots of soup with one packet. The local veggies are cheap I can get 3 meals out of one pot for 4 people so it works out not that expensive... I have a look around the grain section at the markets and there is quite of range that I should try out.

[acjade]

woza17 said:

I don't know but I buy my lentils at the western supermarket, they are imported from Italy. 20RMB for a packet and I can make 2 big pots of soup with one packet. The local veggies are cheap I can get 3 meals out of one pot for 4 people so it works out not that expensive... I have a look around the grain section at the markets and there is quite of range that I should try out.

Can you bring an empty packet to Suzhou.
I have a bugger of a time finding lentils in Xi'an. There here but not obvious.

[woza17]

The packet is in Italian and English, I am not sure it will help I could bring you a couple of full packets. Red or brown or both.

[acjade]

Red please.

[Dragonsaver]

I got invited to a Jiaozi making party today. I learned to roll the dough, and also how to stuff them. I was shown about 6 different ways to 'close' the dumpling. I mastered 2 of the ways. I am much better at rolling out the circles. One of the 'men' showed me how. He can make the circle with 4 rolls of the rolling-pin. I was taking 10 rolls or more, but got it down to 6. My hand was getting 'red' from all the rolling but I had fun!

Of course we had to eat as many as possible afterwards and wash them down with beer!!

I am sooooo full, if I fell down I would rock myself to sleep.

[acjade]

Yum!

[Lotus Eater]

For me western food now sucks. I made gnocci the other night with a western mate. Gnocci was good, 4 cheese sauce with added basil and garlic and extra parmesan. Tastes good when we eat it, but 4 hours later - la duzi. Still suffering. I keep saying, never again - but ....!

I can handle fruit and veg, bread and some western spreads (at this stage vegemite is still OK! - I think because of it's vague proximity to soy sauce or chou doufu) but pizza and most western foods - taste good, react badly.

I can eat all types of Asian foods, including Indian - but western ... no way Jose.

[woza17]

I went to a Spanish restaurant last night. It was overpriced the bread was stale and the butter was off. Reminder to myself don't ever go to western restaurants again unless it is Sofitel.

Lotus I really envy you. I can't survive on Chinese food only. I lose my appetite and can't eat and get run down.

Gnocci I have always found a bit heavy on the stomach, which four cheeses did you use in the sauce. I think I might give it a go this week though.

[Dragonsaver]

deborann said:

For me western food now sucks. I made gnocci the other night with a western mate. Gnocci was good, 4 cheese sauce with added basil and garlic and extra parmesan. Tastes good when we eat it, but 4 hours later - la duzi. Still suffering. I keep saying, never again - but ....!

I can handle fruit and veg, bread and some western spreads (at this stage vegemite is still OK! - I think because of it's vague proximity to soy sauce or chou doufu) but pizza and most western foods - taste good, react badly.

I can eat all types of Asian foods, including Indian - but western ... no way Jose.

LE it sounds like a food allergy/food sensitivity to me rather than Western vs Chinese. I can eat thin crust pizza (in moderation) but if I try the regular puffy crust - la douzi in 30 min. That is in Canada or in China. I'm not sure if it is just the wheat or also the yeast. Spaghetti can also do it to me. I know I shouldn't eat wheat but... In Canada I use Kamut or Spelt when I am cooking with no problems.

Chinese fried noodles do the same but I can get away with the breakfast fried bread. I can eat jiaozi without a major problem but ice cream - oh boy oh boy!!! Dairy allergy could explain the cheese reaction you had last night - it was probably the wheat plus the dairy!!

I find the more sensitive I am to something the faster I need to keep close to the WC. Keep a diary of what you eat, and when you react to something. Even the little 'tummy aches' can be a clue. Of course, mother nature makes us love the foods we are allergic to for some reason - has to do with endorphins or something, but it you crave certain foods - beware. I tend to eat breads, when I eat them, that are whole grain, have sunflower seeds etc in them as I don't react as badly. Eat 100% rye bread for awhile.